asyncpg fetch feedback (python) - python-3.x

Question

I have been using psycopg2 to manage items in my PostgreSQL database. Recently someone suggested that I could improve my database transactions by using asyncio and asyncpg in my code. I have looked around Stack Overflow and read though the documentation for examples. I have been able to create tables and insert records, but I haven't been able to get the execution feedback that I desire.
For example in my psycopg2 code, I can verify that a table exists or doesn't exist prior to inserting records.
def table_exists(self, verify_table_existence, name):
'''Verifies the existence of a table within the PostgreSQL database'''
try:
self.cursor.execute(verify_table_existence, name)
answer = self.cursor.fetchone()[0]
if answer == True:
print('The table - {} - exists'.format(name))
return True
else:
print ('The table - {} - does NOT exist'.format(name))
return False
except Exception as error:
logger.info('An error has occurred while trying to verify the existence of the table {}'.format(name))
logger.info('Error message: {}').format(error)
sys.exit(1)
I haven't been able to get the same feedback using asyncpg. How do I accomplish this?
import asyncpg
import asyncio
async def main():
conn = await asyncpg.connect('postgresql://postgres:mypassword#localhost:5432/mydatabase')
answer = await conn.fetch('''
SELECT EXISTS (
SELECT 1
FROM pg_tables
WHERE schemaname = 'public'
AND tablename = 'test01'
); ''')
await conn.close()
#####################
# the fetch returns
# [<Record exists=True>]
# but prints 'The table does NOT exist'
#####################
if answer == True:
print('The table exists')
else:
print('The table does NOT exist')
asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(main())

Answer 1

You used fetchone()[0] with psycopg2, but just fetch(...) with asyncpg. The former will retrieve the first column of the first row, while the latter will retrieve a whole list of rows. Being a list, it doesn't compare as equal to True.
To fetch a single value from a single row, use something like answer = await conn.fetchval(...).